Is This the Movie He Wanted to Make

Rating: 3/10 (24 July 2005)

This film seems to fit the comments made on it only as another "flesh- eating zombie" movie, of which there are way more than enough. It is more stylish and less gory than the others but the director's commentary on the DVD I rented, together with the comments of "scientists" included therein, suggest a more serious, if not original, intent. The idea that animal rights activists might accidentally or intentionally release a pandemic is not implausible. Such an event could indeed be a disaster. The idea of a pandemic occurring on its own or as a result of a terrorist act is also not implausible. So why not make that movie? Not commercial? Instead this is just another rather dumb movie, rather than the cautionary tale it might have been. All the neat scenes of deserted cities cannot overcome that. Query: if the "disease" is so contagious and leaves it victims raging maniacs instead of dead, where did everyone go? If the infected can starve to death, why don't they attack each other? There are a lot of things to admire about the technique of this movie and the actors. If you like this kind of movie, don't watch the director's commentary.